


THE LEGAL TECHNICALITIES OF A MARRIAGE HUNT: A Pamphlet by Uzumaki Kushina

by drelfina



Series: Marriage Hunt AU [2]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Discussion of AU rules, Discussion of Civil vs Common Law, F/M, God Minato's lucky he's pretty, Jinchuuriki!Kushina, Kushina just wants to hunt, Marriage Hunt, Marriage Hunt AU, No sex whatsoever, The results of Genius Ninja everyone, it is Springtime and the Kyuubi Wants to Bang, why is Minato just standing there
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-27
Updated: 2019-10-23
Packaged: 2020-05-20 18:29:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,981
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19382335
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/drelfina/pseuds/drelfina
Summary: Kushina declared a Hunt.Why the hell won't Minato run?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Lilili_cat](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lilili_cat/gifts), [rikacain](https://archiveofourown.org/users/rikacain/gifts), [sweetsinnerchild](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sweetsinnerchild/gifts).



"We're going on a hunt?" the blond idiot said, and Kushina almost kneed him in the balls, and it would have been an _accident_ , because she honestly had been ready to spring after him after the traditional declaration of a Hunt - 

And the fool just stood there blinking big blue eyes, while she nearly sprained an ankle keeping herself from accidentally ending any chance of her having kids off this idiot. 

"A Marriage HUNT," she said, "I declared one." 

"Oh," Minato said, and _still stood there like a nincompoop_. "Together?" 

She stared at him. 

He looked back at her, bright-eyed and encouraging smile, waiting for elaboration. That was his 'I'd like more details, please!' face.

"You're supposed to _run_ ," she snapped, feeling the urge to claw out his eyes for looking so _stupidly_ bright at her. 

For someone who was supposed to be a genius and some sort of prodigy, he was apparently a complete _idiot_. 

"Why?" he said. 

"It's a Marriage Hunt!" She was resisting the urge to yell. Or grab him by the shoulders and shake. Or grab him by the hair and yank and bite his stupid neck and make his gaze go unfocused - 

_DOWN_ Kurama. It was spring, so of course the kyuubi thought it was a great time for the Hunt, and she had agreed which was why she had been willing to try it out and then this idiot… 

"What is a Marriage Hunt?" Minato said slowly, and oh god Kushina was going to rip out her own hair now. 

The idiot didn't _know what a Marriage Hunt was_!

"How can you not know? I declare it, you run, I Hunt you down and then I Claim you as mine!" 

Minato nodded, still not trying to _run_ and that was a huge problem. She couldn't Hunt if her Prey wouldn't run, and here he was, standing there looking like he was making mental notes while going _Interesting ritual you got_. 

"What happens if I get away?" he said, and before she could answer or maybe smash his head into the grass and bite him anyway, he went on, "What are the rules? How big a field does a Hunt take place? Is there a restriction in jutsu? _can_ i use the hiraishin? What if I turned around and hunted instead? What if I didn't want to be Hunted? Is there a clause where I can back-out, or say no thank you?" 

Minato, damn him, had always been curious about the _details_ , always wanting to _know_ , and in the entire time he stood there thinking and asking, she could have been chasing down any other mate, and probably have been having toe-curling sex by now, and possibly well on the way on getting in the family way. 

Why did she have to pick this one? Just because he looked good, smelled good, and generally his intelligence and curiosity was a _good_ thing for battles and jutsu development, he was apparently going to stand here for the whole day while time marched on and Kurama made confused sounds at the lack of any mating going on. 

"If you get away," Kushina gritted out, "means that i lose the hunt and have to wait at least another season before I can declare a Hunt of you again. The field is as big as the Prey likes. No jutsu restriction though I suppose as the jinchuuriki I can't just beat you up." 

 

"That would be unfair," Minato agreed. "So what if -" 

"Shut up. You can't turn around and Hunt me, that's ludricous, I declared first you don't get to declare half-way. And if you didn't want to get hunted -" 

She paused. Considering. Running definitely triggered the Hunt - it was considered automatic consent to being Hunted. 

But not-running meant… it didn't feel quite right to pounce him either, though she had witnessed some hunts where the Prey just stood like an idiot and got pounced. It had been a very unsatisfying Hunt all around for the witnesses and the Hunter. 

"Running means you consent," She said slowly. 

"And standing here is stalemate," Minato said because well he WAS intelligent, even if he was a dumbass. 

"It sometimes is basically 'pounce me, i'm right here,'" Kushina said. "I suppose you could run and scream you don't consent…?" 

"Since running triggers consent, that seems to be a bit of a lose-lose situation," Minato pointed out, very reasonably. 

Kushina growled. 

"Is this an Uzumaki thing?" he asked. "I mean I thought Marriage… rituals like these had died out after the Founding." 

"We were never part of Konoha," Kushina snarled and stalked in a tiny tight circle. 

"Oh, right, You still keep the old rituals and traditions," Minato said. "Hey what happens if a jounin hunts a chuunin though? That seems very unfair."

"It's more like the jounin has terrible taste," Kushina said. "Why would you hunt someone so below your skill level? That's the worst kind of Hunt, it's not only a poor display of skill, it's _boring_." 

"Ah! So Marriage Hunts are for - equally skilled people." 

"Between equals," Kushina agreed. 

"Oh," Minato said and then he was starting to look AND smell pleased. "You think I'm your equal." 

"Of course!" Kushina growled. "Do you know how hard it is to look for an equal? I am not going to go hunting someone who'd just go _squish_ if I hold them wrong." 

"But what about if a chuunin hunted a jounin?" 

"An overreach, maybe, but if they succeeded it'd be fascinating. Or hilarious, depending." Kushina dug her heel into the grass. "So do you consent to the hunt or not?" 

Minato beamed at her. "You think I'm your equal. Of course I do." 

"Good," she snapped, and leapt just as he disappeared in a yellow flash.

 

* * *

 

She had been right - he _was_ her equal. 

The forest was never going to be quite the same, but five hours later, she finally managed to land her quarry. And she was definitely enjoying the afterglow. 

"Kushina?" 

"Nmgh," she said, burrowing her head in his hair. Nice bright sunshine-y hair, smelling of sweat and her. Mmmm. 

"Kushina." Insistent fingers poked her in the shoulder. "Kushina. What about if two people declare their intent to hunt one?" 

She looked up at him, letting Kurama's annoyed gaze through HER eyes, and jabbed him back in the shoulder. "I'm not the Marriage Hunt expert here." 

"You're the closest one," Minato protested. "It's happened before though, right before the Founders' Era, Uchiha Madara and Izuna apparently - uh, hunted? Proposed? - to Nidaime Senju Tobirama." 

"How would I know? I'm not actually _from_ Konoha," kushina said and poked him in the pectoral. "If it happened before then it can happen again. Case precedence." 

"But that was when they were barbarians," Minato said. "We didn't have lawyers then!" 

Kushina considered whether he _really_ needed his tongue to give her babies. 

… well his tongue was very good and she'd enjoyed it just now so… 

"So now you have lawyers and you can ask _them_." 

"It's not how we do things though, we don't do common law - it's civil law," Minato said. "We have to -" 

"By your shodaime's balls," Kushina said, and kissed him with teeth. "Shut up."

 

* * *

 

****

**  
**

EPILOGUE

**  
  
**

"Can't I just - keep my name Namikaze professionally?" Minato said, staring at the whole stack of paper in dismay. 

"You're already on my family register," Kushina pointed out. "It's been months, it can't have taken you that long to figure out where you need to change it." 

"I mean legally sure, I'm already all done, but there's the gas bills and the rent, and the water and then there's all the backdated cheques for my work and consulting with seals with other seals experts in Suna and Iwa," Minato said, Looking pitiful. "And then there's the _banking_. You don't know how anal they are about name-changes!" 

"You should have thought about that before you got hunted," Kushina said heartlessly. "Good luck with that."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay okay so. 
> 
> Here's the system, as more or less almost 'undiluted' form from Uzushio/Kushina's home place
> 
> 1\. Hunts were more or less meant to be only between equals. A jounin-equivalent can't hunt a chuunin equivalent because that's just blatantly unfair. And basically tells everyone that the jounin either doesn't think too highly of himself, or is scaaaared of other jounin skills so therefore is that jounin REALLY worthy of being a jounin? 
> 
> 2\. Lower ranks can hunt higher ranks if they want. Maybe they're ambitious. Such hunts aren't always doomed to fail, but it can be fascinating - or HILARIOUS. If they succeed, then either the jounin had 'let' it happen, (are they in love?) or the chuunin should have been jounin level ANYWAY and they probably would get promoted real quick.
> 
> 3\. 2 vs 1 hunts are probably only allowed if it's all discussed before hand. It probably was allowed prior to the Founding of villages. But these days there are lawyers and the Prey/Hunted party can sue for dismissal that this was not a valid Hunt. 
> 
> 4\. Konoha's law is Civil Law (based on a set of rules) rather than Common Law (set by precedence). In modern Konoha, the case of Madara and Izuna hunting Tobirama together very likely will be thrown out as illegal, unless there is extremely extenuating circumstances. 
> 
> 5\. There is no shame in the Prey getting away from the Hunter - after all, hunts have to take place between equals, right? So the Prey getting away is a 50-50 chance anyway - and it does make things more interesting for the onlookers (and a more satisfying Hunt) 
> 
> 6\. There's probably an age restriction too: prodigies such as Kakashi, Shisui and Minato were probably allowed to defer their promotions till they were of age (15, 16), but Kakashi is a giant dumbass who at six saw no reason to NOT be promoted to chuunin because girls are icky. When he got promoted to jounin at 12, he still had not hit puberty yet… so by the time he DID hit puberty, he was a fucking tiny fucker whose agemates were ALL too low-ranked for him to hunt, his same-rank colleagues were all TOO OLD to be hot, and thus he had to wait till Shisui hit his jounin rank, THEN WAIT LONGER for Shisui to be of an age he actually finds hot. 
> 
> 7\. Also the Prey, if caught and the Hunt consummated/claimed, then ends up joining the Hunter's family/clan (and quite often would be referred to as the Wife, no matter what the gender of the Prey). Thus Minato's legal name is Uzumaki Minato. And since Minato's legal name is actually Uzumaki, this is why Naruto is Uzumaki, not because of some bullshit attempt to 'deflect' by using his very prominent mother's name. 
> 
> 8\. If a jounin Desperately wants to marry a chuunin (and they aren't already banging), then GET A MATCHMAKER, YOU FOOL. Just do the matchmaking shit. 
> 
> Why does Minato not know this? 
> 
> Well, first of all, most of Konoha clans have already started practicing diluted forms of Hunts - particularly in the Uchiha, and maybe Hyuuga clans where the hunts are a thin veneer of a formality. 
> 
> Secondly, Minato was a 12 year old Jounin who fucked off into prodigy land because sex and marriage is BORING when you're twelve you could have JUTSU and SEALS and trying to warp space-time instead. 
> 
> History and Tradition is kinda just background to him… right until it suddenly becomes very relevant to his immediate future. 
> 
> His baby-making and sex-having future. 
> 
> Man, he's lucky he's pretty.


	2. A Study of Marriage Hunt Traditions Unique to Konoha (excerpt)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A Study of Marriage Hunt Traditions Unique to Konoha (excerpt)
> 
> Interference often can be divided into three categories, of which only the first is first is lawful: interference by family or clan members, interference by a competing hunter and interference by a third party.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written by Rikacain because she loves me~ <3

**Interference**

Interference often can be divided into three categories, of which only the first is first is lawful: interference by family or clan members, interference by a competing hunter and interference by a third party.

Interference by family or clan members is legal under the Section 1349 of the Civil Code. Although civilian society has recently refrained from claiming their rights under the law due to the prevailing romantic notions of true love, shinobi clans have a higher stake in maintaining this particular provision especially with the unique bloodlines within the clans. As such interference by clans during a hunt is less frowned upon than in Konoha, when the clan heads have an interest in preserving their bloodlines.

This provision, however, does not include the right to avoid a successful hunt.

Interference by a competing hunter is in all cases invalid. According to Inuzuka v. Hagane, to be considered a competing hunter, the following conditions are requisite:

  1. There is an ongoing hunt initiated by the primary hunter (see above Initiating a hunt).
  2. The competing hunter is aware or should have been aware of the ongoing hunt.
  3. An effort has been made by the primary hunter.
  4. The competing hunter was successful in their claim.



The court's reasoning was that the competing hunter had benefited unfairly from the efforts of the primary hunter, and should thus not be rewarded. As a result the defendant's claim by hunt on the quarry was considered legally invalid and both hunters were free to declare another hunt at a later date.

This leads to the third category of interference by a third party, though some legal scholars argue that it is a subset of the second category. In the spirit of the two laws above, interference by any person other than a clan member should be sanctioned - that is, the requirement of a successful hunt should not be required to fine an interloper.

Proponents of the third category argue that the court had chosen the term 'competing hunter' to denote challengers to the primary hunter with the intent of laying claim to the quarry. Furthermore, not all interlopers had the intent of hunting the quarry (see Toujou v. Nara, where a jounin interfered with a hunt of her recently promoted chuunin student - the legally invalid outcome of the hunt being ruled so for other reasons.) Both sides seem to agree that such an action should be sanctioned nonetheless, to discourage quarries from offering bribes to passerbys to interfere in a sacred tradition (see footnote for such accounts.)

A minor viewpoint in academic circles of note is one advocating for the avoidance of any hunts regardless of whether the competing hunter were successful in their claim. The quarry would be put at an unfair advantage with two hunters, and the full extent of effort had not been exerted in claiming the quarry. This view had been mostly dismissed by a majority as multiple hunters are allowed (see section on Joint Hunters) and the requirement that an effort, not the fullest extent of an effort, is required from the hunter.

[....]

**Symbolic and Traditional Hunts**

The tradition of arranged marriages are well and alive within Konoha - however, there is a shifting tendency towards a symbolic hunt conducted before a traditional hunt.

While a traditional hunt remains legally binding regardless of whether a symbolic hunt is conducted, the symbolic hunt has risen in popularity: as a precaution against an opportunistic third party declaring a hunt before the arranged parties are scheduled to conduct their own. With a symbolic hunt (certified by a minimum of two witnesses) the arranged parties could raise as a defense the intent and validity of a symbolic hunt to prevent interlopers.

Over the years, this precaution has translated into a shift away from (as some clans view) the 'barbaric' practices of chasing and claiming (see Hyuuga v. Uchiha on the latter's reasoning on their refusal to conduct a traditional hunt.)

[...]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lolololololol

**Author's Note:**

> Okay okay so. 
> 
> Here's the system, as more or less almost 'undiluted' form from Uzushio/Kushina's home place
> 
> 1\. Hunts were more or less meant to be only between equals. A jounin-equivalent can't hunt a chuunin equivalent because that's just blatantly unfair. And basically tells everyone that the jounin either doesn't think too highly of himself, or is scaaaared of other jounin skills so therefore is that jounin REALLY worthy of being a jounin? 
> 
> 2\. Lower ranks can hunt higher ranks if they want. Maybe they're ambitious. Such hunts aren't always doomed to fail, but it can be fascinating - or HILARIOUS. If they succeed, then either the jounin had 'let' it happen, (are they in love?) or the chuunin should have been jounin level ANYWAY and they probably would get promoted real quick.
> 
> 3\. 2 vs 1 hunts are probably only allowed if it's all discussed before hand. It probably was allowed prior to the Founding of villages. But these days there are lawyers and the Prey/Hunted party can sue for dismissal that this was not a valid Hunt. 
> 
> 4\. Konoha's law is Civil Law (based on a set of rules) rather than Common Law (set by precedence). In modern Konoha, the case of Madara and Izuna hunting Tobirama together very likely will be thrown out as illegal, unless there is extremely extenuating circumstances. 
> 
> 5\. There is no shame in the Prey getting away from the Hunter - after all, hunts have to take place between equals, right? So the Prey getting away is a 50-50 chance anyway - and it does make things more interesting for the onlookers (and a more satisfying Hunt) 
> 
> 6\. There's probably an age restriction too: prodigies such as Kakashi, Shisui and Minato were probably allowed to defer their promotions till they were of age (15, 16), but Kakashi is a giant dumbass who at six saw no reason to NOT be promoted to chuunin because girls are icky. When he got promoted to jounin at 12, he still had not hit puberty yet… so by the time he DID hit puberty, he was a fucking tiny fucker whose agemates were ALL too low-ranked for him to hunt, his same-rank colleagues were all TOO OLD to be hot, and thus he had to wait till Shisui hit his jounin rank, THEN WAIT LONGER for Shisui to be of an age he actually finds hot. 
> 
> 7\. Also the Prey, if caught and the Hunt consummated/claimed, then ends up joining the Hunter's family/clan (and quite often would be referred to as the Wife, no matter what the gender of the Prey). Thus Minato's legal name is Uzumaki Minato. And since Minato's legal name is actually Uzumaki, this is why Naruto is Uzumaki, not because of some bullshit attempt to 'deflect' by using his very prominent mother's name. 
> 
> 8\. If a jounin Desperately wants to marry a chuunin (and they aren't already banging), then GET A MATCHMAKER, YOU FOOL. Just do the matchmaking shit. 
> 
> Why does Minato not know this? 
> 
> Well, first of all, most of Konoha clans have already started practicing diluted forms of Hunts - particularly in the Uchiha, and maybe Hyuuga clans where the hunts are a thin veneer of a formality. 
> 
> Secondly, Minato was a 12 year old Jounin who fucked off into prodigy land because sex and marriage is BORING when you're twelve you could have JUTSU and SEALS and trying to warp space-time instead. 
> 
> History and Tradition is kinda just background to him… right until it suddenly becomes very relevant to his immediate future. 
> 
> His baby-making and sex-having future. 
> 
> Man, he's lucky he's pretty.


End file.
